Saskatoon Minute: Issue 99

Saskatoon Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Saskatoon politics

📅 This Week In Saskatoon: 📅

• We're hosting a Pints & Politics event in Saskatoon, in conjunction with our friends at the Saskatchewan Institute! We're going to keep things simple and just have some casual drinks, with no formal agenda, as an opportunity for everyone to get together with like-minded people, meet some of the team, and chat about politics. There's a lot going on, so there will be plenty of conversation topics. The event takes place on Thursday, March 5th at Birmingham’s. It’s free, but you’ll need to RSVP here.
  
  
• The Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee convenes on Tuesday at 11:30 am. The City of Saskatoon will discuss an application for a public commemoration requesting a statue and will be seeking representatives for the ad-hoc Commemoration Review Committee. This committee, which will include members from the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee (MHAC), Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC), City staff, third-party experts, and a member of the public, is responsible for assessing the commemorative worthiness of proposals, reviewing design and placement, considering artistic merit, and making recommendations to City Council. 
  
  
• The Public Art Advisory Committee meets on Wednesday at 9:30 am. On the agenda is a funding proposal from Bird Friendly Saskatoon for an anti-collision window art project at City Hall. The group is requesting funding to install designs that prevent fatal bird-window strikes while showcasing local art in a high-visibility location. The group highlighted that City Hall’s reflective windows, combined with nearby trees, create a high-risk area for birds. Their project aims to reduce collisions, raise public awareness about bird conservation, and showcase the potential of window art to solve this issue. The plan involves selecting an artist through a call for proposals, collaborating on design and location, and applying the artwork with volunteer support. They suggested three possible locations on City Hall, with varying levels of visibility and potential impact on birds. Two budget scenarios were presented: a larger temporary mural costing $1,887 or a smaller printed design costing $1,200.
  
  
• At the Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Thursday, the 2025 Year in Review from Saskatoon Search and Rescue will be presented, which details support provided during missing person investigations, the expansion of the Project Lifesaver program, and assistance during wildfire evacuations. The Annual Report from the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) Traffic Unit and Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) will also be presented. It notes that the organizations continued their focus on road safety in 2025 through a combination of education, enforcement, and data-driven strategies. The SPS Traffic Unit focused its efforts on the “Big Four” traffic risks: seatbelt violations, distracted driving, aggressive driving, and impaired driving. CTSS, funded provincially and working in partnership with the RCMP, enforces traffic safety on provincial highways and supports the city through initiatives like Selective Traffic Enforcement Projects (STEP) and impaired driving blitzes. In 2025, CTSS members spent about 25% of their time in Saskatoon, providing additional traffic enforcement at no cost to the city. The Board will also consider a $5,652 membership renewal for the Canadian Association of Police Governance to maintain national collaboration on civilian oversight. 
  
  
• Saskatoon’s Governance and Priorities Committee reviewed the proposed 2026-29 Strategic Plan last week, emphasizing that even items removed from the formal plan - like neighbourhood watch programs and a 24-hour drop-in centre - remain important to the city. Public feedback from 1,743 residents and 178 city employees highlighted priorities around homelessness, safety, and community services. Some key performance indicators, including the drop-in centre metric, were removed due to challenges in data collection, though the City continues to work with the Province to identify shelter and drop-in locations. Neighbourhood watch programs were excluded from the Plan because they did not align with Saskatoon Police Service best practices and were not a major focus for residents, but the City says it still supports community-led safety initiatives. Surveys indicated that 77% of respondents feel safe in their neighbourhoods. The City stressed that removal from the strategic plan does not mean these initiatives are unimportant, and communities remain free to pursue neighbourhood watch programs.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

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